When should pine trees be pruned in Northern Nevada?

The conifer calendar

Battle Born's own pruning guidance is early spring and summer for most conifers such as pines, and any time for hazards. Deciduous trees follow a different rule, so the calendar for a maple or ash does not carry over. The comparison is on the best time to prune timing table.

What pines actually need

A pine does not need shaping. The useful cuts are dead branches, lower limbs that carry fire up toward the crown, and branches over a roof. A pine will not regrow from bare old wood, so cutting a pine back hard leaves a permanent hole. Species notes are on the ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine and Austrian pine pages. For lower limbs and fire see ladder fuels and limbing up.

Beetles and dry years

Pine bark beetles hit hardest after drought. In a dry period a tree may not have enough resin to push the beetles out. We have not found a Nevada Division of Forestry source for the dates when pruning wounds attract beetles, so we do not give a calendar rule on that. In a drought year, ask the arborist about timing for your tree. The signs of an attack, such as pitch tubes and a fading crown, are on bark beetles in pines.

Tahoe notes

Around Lake Tahoe, check the permit rules first. TRPA regulates removing live trees over 14 inches DBH, and removing branches from the upper two-thirds of a tree needs a permit with exceptions for dead wood, utility conflicts and near structures. The agency decides. See the Tahoe permit guide. Call 775.232.8243 for a free estimate.

Before you book

Walk the trees and note which limbs touch the roof, which hang low, and which look dry. Photos of the crown help, taken from a few spots. A certified arborist assesses every Battle Born job before work begins, and the estimate is free. Remember that a pine does not need a yearly cut. If the answer is that it needs nothing, that is an honest answer too.